Simple Maple Cinnamon Granola and Tek-Nique Restaurant Review

I hope everyone had a great weekend! After running my first 5K on Saturday (recap here), I celebrated with some delicious Strawberry Margaritas for Cinco de Mayo.

Then I slept for 12 hours! I can’t even remember the last time I slept for 12 hours! On Sunday, I was well rested and had a relaxing day. Luke and I went out for a celebration dinner at Tek-Nique in Bedford, NH. Somehow, Luke managed to rent out the whole restaurant for us! Or maybe it was just late Sunday night and no one was out…

We munched on their delicious house focaccia while we were waiting for our appetizers.

To start, we shared the Salt Roasted Beets, which had a reduced balsamic vinaigrette, arugula, parmesan and croutons. It was a tasty salad!

We also shared the Bone Marrow Risotto as an appetizer. We had been wanting to try this for a while. I was a bit afraid to take my first bite (I mean bone marrow?!?), but it did not disappoint us and was quite delicious. It definitely had a unique flavor to it, but not an overwhelming one.

For dinner, we shared another salad – the Spring Sprout Salad. It consisted of brussels sprout pedals, cranberries, candied almonds, poached pear and blue cheese. Neither of us had ever had brussels sprouts like that, and after having it, we want to try to recreate it at home!

We also shared the Braised Rabbit Strozzapretti for dinner. It was topped with wild mushrooms, shallots, carrots, pearl onions and vermouth rabbit demi. We had ordered this dish before and it was just as delicious as I remembered it! If you’ve never had rabbit, it’s really not that scary – give it a try next time you see it on the menu!

Finally, we shared the Trio of Creme Brûlée for dessert. There was a chocolate, a vanilla and a citrus creme brûlée. They were all good, though I’m not a huge creme brûlée fan.

Overall, it was a delicious dinner! We have never been disappointed by Tek-Nique and I would highly recommend you check it out if you are in the area.

The weekend was wrapped up by making a delicious batch of granola. I was in the mood for a simple granola, so I decided to make Maple Cinnamon Granola and added in some chopped walnuts and chia seeds.

If you’ve never made homemade granola before, give this simple recipe a try!

First, preheat your oven to 300 and mix the oats, cinnamon, walnuts and chia seeds in a large bowl.

Then add the maple syrup and canola oil and stir until well combined.

Bake at 300 for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Let cool for at least 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Maple Cinnamon Granola

Ingredients:

2 cups old fashioned oats

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp chia seeds (optional)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

5 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp canola oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300.

Mix the oats, cinnamon, chia seeds and walnuts in a large bowl.

Add the maple syrup and canola oil and stir until well combined.

Transfer the granola to a greased baking sheet and bake at 300 for 25 minutes, flipping once.

That beet salad sounds delicious! Until recently, I had never had beets on salads. I was missing out!
Congrats on your 5K by the way! That is great!!!Kristen @ Swanky Dietitian recently posted..Zip lining in BC

Wow, what a fancy schmancy DELICIOUS-looking dinner! The Brussels sprouts salad sounds like something I’d love. Bone marrow would make me weary too, but I have a rule that I try anything once. Plus, bone marrow is considered one of the most nutrient-dense foods on earth, right?

Congrats on completing your first race!! And thanks for sharing the granola recipe; I’ve been meaning to make a homemade batch for months, and now that I have a week off from school, it may actually happen. Sara @ Nourish and Flourish recently posted..Bringing {Ice Cream} Back

Welcome to After Dinner Dance! I'm Caroline, a 26-year-old living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. My blog follows my love of cooking delicious and nutritious meals that make veggies taste good, and a bit of my life including my running and adventures with my toy poodle, Teddy! I recently graduated with a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion and am also a Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Health Education Specialist. Feel free to contact me at afterdinnerdance@gmail.com - I'd love to hear from you!